Cabinet d'Expertise Dan Coissard and Aguttes Auction House host $6.6 million art sale
Mar. 30 , 2007
( PARIS) -- The Cabinet d’Expertise Dan Coissard, in association with the Aguttes Auction House, conducted a successful sale of more than $6.6 million in 19th and 20th century paintings at Drouot-Richelieu in Paris, France. Russian paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as Impressionist, Modern and Orientalist works sold well across the board. More than 400 bidders from around the globe participated in the 339-lot auction, thanks in part to live online bidding provided by www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
The sale of Wassily Kandinsky’s 1930 painting Condensed Brown, an important work from the artist’s Bauhaus period, marked the highpoint of the auction. Kandinsky broke with the influential constructivism and suprematist styles of the period, noticeable in the richly colored, layered surfaces visible in his painting. Industrial themes influenced Kandinksy's paintings during his time at the Bauhaus. Condensed Brown is dominated by an ochre-toned rectangle, from which horizontal and vertical lines project. Kandinsky paintings of this calibre are rarely seen on the French market. The work sold for more than $2 million dollars to a foreign collector, setting a world record for a Kandinsky of this size and period.
Following the success of previous Russian sales, Aguttes Auction House continues to dominate the Russian paintings market in France. This auction's Russian highlights included a rare View of Venice by Constant Alexis Korovin, which fetched $185,260; Lev Chitovsky’s seductive watercolour of a sleeping nude, entitled The Nap, which brought in $75,715; and George Lapchine’s view of La Madeleine in Paris which sold for $70,394.
The Forest, an exquisite late work by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin sold for $180,427. The artist deliberately places a fallen log in the foreground, showing off the details of the coarse bark, the twisting branches and the rugged textures. Shishkin’s painting methods were based on analytical studies of nature, allowing him to represent landscapes with an almost obsessive attention to detail.
A rare 1920 Marie Vassilieff, Young Girl with Cat, fetched an impressive $362,466. From the same period, Ivan Kliun’s 1919 Geometric Composition fetched a respectable $144,986. French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works also continue to find enthusiastic bidders with Albert Marquet’s lovely View of Venice reaching $157,875 and two small panels by Eugène Boudin, both from a private French collection, fetching $53,162 and $32,219.
The collaboration between Dan Coissard and Claude Aguttes continues to offer its clientele a varied and international selection of artwork. For example, this sale included two paintings by Portuguese artist Francis Smith which sold for $61,217 and $64,438. The Matador, a watercolor by Spanish painter Carlos Casagemas, a close friend of Picasso’s before his untimely death, also quadrupled its estimate, attaining a final price of $30,609. Antonio Uria Monzon’s Picador more than tripled its estimate, fetching $22,554. Turkish artist Hakki Anli’s Abstract Composition soared to $22,524, four times the estimate, while two Fikret Moualla gouaches of Parisian scenes sold for $37,053 and $35,441.
The sale also boasted an exceptional collection of contemporary photographs from notable newcomers Silas Shabelewska, Adolfo Doring and André Von Morisse. The latter’s cotton-candy pink oil on canvas depicts the iconic Freud, portrayed with a somber expression and a hot dog in hand. This witty large-scale painting sold for $48,329, showing that this contemporary New York artist is one to watch.
Julien Dupré’s Harvest Scene, the highlight of the 19th century paintings selection, reached $161,096. The piece depicts a group of workers resting for a meal. Franck-Antoine Bail’s Flower Arrangement was also appealing to international collectors, almost tripling its estimate to sell for $43,495. The sale of other 19th century works by artists such as Alexandre-Jacques Chantron, Paul Sieffert, Enrique Serra y Auque, Jules Cheret, Henry Malfroy and Edouard-Léon Cortes demonstrates the continued strength of interest in works from this period.
The final portion of the sale was made up of Orientalist paintings, which are increasingly sought-after by international collectors. Georges Washington’s The Bridal Possession, a large desert scene showing camel-driven bride en route to the ceremony, sold for $128,877. The Carpet Dealer of Marrakech by Paul-Émile Dubois sold for $59,605 while Jacque Majorelle’s colorful Bamako Market sold for $43,495.
Aguttes Auction House and the Cabinet d’Expertise Dan Coissard will present another auction of Nineteenth and Twentieth century paintings at Drouot-Richelieu on Monday, June 25. The sale will include works by Degas, Van Dongen, Mathieu, Ernst, Atlan, Calder, Indiana, Valtat, Wesselman, Kandinsky, Picasso and 15 painings by Lanskoy. Watch for the full catalog, available online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com, which will also host absentee and live online bidding for the sale.
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